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How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Note: The original version of this post was shared in June 2014. In that time I’ve nerded out about spaghetti squash like I never would have imagined, learning a ton in the process, and many fantastic people have shared their knowledge in the comments. A major update was due, including a video (scroll down a bit for 1 minute of spaghetti squash glory). If you want to see the original post, check it out here.

I have never been a big fan of spaghetti squash, because the “noodles” always came out really short and un-spaghetti-like. It seemed like a big sham. But every so often I would feel compelled to try again, and during one of those attempts I made a startling discovery. Here it is. We’ve been cutting spaghetti squash the wrong way.

Nearly every recipe for spaghetti squash that I’ve ever seen calls for cutting the squash lengthwise. It only makes sense, because most spaghetti squash are longer than they are wide. But this is plain wrong. Why? Because the strands run around the circumference of the squash, not down the length. Is your mind reeling yet? Hang in there, we’ll get through this together.

I stumbled across this revelation thanks to my pressure cooker. One night, I wanted spaghetti squash, but I didn’t want to wait an hour for it, so I decided to use my favorite speedy kitchen appliance. The problem was, in order to fit it into the pressure cooker I had to cut it across the middle, and at the time I thought that my long spaghetti squash noodle dreams were shattered. Imagine my surprise when I started to separate the strands and realized that they were as long as spaghetti noodles! How could this be? Upon further inspection, I realized that the strands spiraled around the width, not the length. And then I realized why the “noodles” had always been short in previous attempts. They were cut in half the moment the knife sliced through the length of the squash. Let’s take a moment to mourn every spaghetti squash noodle that was ever cut in half needlessly.

I realized I had to test this theory with two different squash, cutting one lengthwise, and one across the width. Rather than use the pressure cooker again, I baked the squash in the oven to confirm that the cooking method didn’t impact the outcome. Below, half of one squash cut vertically, and half of another squash cut horizontally. To further test my theory, I cut the shortest squash across the width.

To our left, we have short strands of disappointment. To our right, we have lovely long strands resembling a bowl of spaghetti noodles.

Here’s a close-up of the squash cut length-wise. You can even see the cross-section of the strands that were cut down in their prime.

Here’s a close-up of one of the rings, where you can clearly see the individual strands separating. My sweet little hand model is doing a very good job of pointing this out, don’t you think?

Ok, fine, Beth, this is blowing my mind and everything, but how much longer are the noodles, really?

Ok, let’s get into the nitty gritty. Here is everything I currently know about how to cook spaghetti squash to get the longest noodles and best texture. There’s a super cool trick to help reduce the wetness factor. I’ve also included four cooking methods because you need options. They are listed in order of my favorites, and I’ve made sure to include the pros and cons for each. You’re welcome. But first, a video!

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash – The Video!

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Cut Spaghetti Squash

This is the hardest part. Spaghetti squash are basically taunting you with their hard exterior – daring you to find a way to break through their stubborn skin to get to the noodle-y goodness. But you can be the boss of the squash. You can prick the squash a couple of times and then stick it in the microwave for 5 minutes to soften the skin, if you like, or just pick up your blade of choice and tell that squash who’s in charge. That’s you, in case you needed a reminder.

Cut 1/2″ off each end, then cut in half across the width. Use a sharp knife to cut around the inside of the each half to get out the seeds and other various innards.Cut further into rings if you’d like, but it’s not necessary. The cooking time is the same, and by leaving halves intact, you can use them as bowls. Nifty, huh?

Recommended Knives:

Boning Knife – this is my current favorite. It’s sturdy, thin, and flexible, making it perfect for cutting through the squash as well was cutting away the seeds and the peel. It’s also super affordable and has tons of great reviews.

Serrated Bread Knife – you need one of these anyway, to cut crusty loaves of bread without smashing them into oblivion, but they also make quick work of squash butchery. That sounds weird.

Chef’s Knife – if you’ve seen the original version of this post, you’ll remember that this is the knife I formerly recommended. I still do recommend it for the majority of your slicing and dicing needs, but since I started using the boning knife I found that this knife was really only good for the initial cutting of the squash, but it’s awkward to use when it comes to getting out the seeds and removing the peel. Just want to be real with you. 🙂

Pumpkin carving kit knife – several people in the comments said that the little knife that you use to carve pumpkins at Halloween worked well, but I tried mine, and I was challenged. That’s true in general, but beside the point. You might have better luck than I, so I figured I’d mention it.

My preference is the boning knife so far. But the best knife for you is the one you have in your hand, so hack away! But please be careful.

Salting Spaghetti Squash

This is what took spaghetti squash to the next level for me. Reader Tracie left a comment that salting the squash first draws out a ton of moisture, which really helps reduce the mushy/wet texture that always turned me off in the past. Now, I always take the extra 15 minutes and salt the squash first. You can be really liberal with the salt, because you’ll wipe it away before cooking, along with all the water that the salt draws out. Thanks for the tip, Tracie! 🙂

Look at how much water comes out! It’s truly amazing how much of a difference this step makes in the final texture. It’s worth the time, trust me.

Pat the squash dry with a clean kitchen towel and brush away any excess salt. Then, apply heat to the squash with the cooking method of your choice. Here are four options, ranked from the best to um, you probably should just skip the last one.

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash in the Oven

The original and best! The heat from the oven really helps to get the best texture, by further evaporating much of the moisture. Plus, you can salt the squash on a rack fitted over a sheet pan, and then roast it on the same setup for 30 minutes at 400F. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Start to finish, including the salting and cooling times, you can have perfect spaghetti squash noodles in your belly in an hour, and less than 15 minutes of that time involves you doing anything at all. Once the squash has cooled enough to handle, peel the skin away with your fingers, or if it’s stubborn, use your knife to slice the peel off.

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash in the Microwave

My next favorite method! Cut the squash in halves or rings, and salt for 15 minutes. Wipe any excess salt away, but leave the moisture collected after salting in the dish. Cook on high for 8 minutes to start, and go up from there in 1-minute increments. You don’t need to add any additional water in the dish, or cover it. It’s best to let as much moisture evaporate as possible while cooking – there’s a lot of it! As you can see, it cooks up just fine without water. And, bonus, it’s already seasoned! You can also cook the squash whole, but then you don’t get the benefit of salting and getting the seeds out after cooking is a pain. It’s your call, of course. If you that route, make sure you poke a couple of holes in the squash so it doesn’t explode. Safety first. 🙂

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash in the Slow Cooker

Ah, the wonderful slow cooker. Just as with the microwave method, you can salt the halves or rings and then cook while still salted. Use a little less salt in this case, since you won’t be wiping it away. The salt will draw out the moisture as it cooks, so you can start the cooking time immediately after salting. Go for 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low. You can also cook the squash whole, for the same time, but I find it much messier to de-seed it after it is cooked, plus you don’t get to salt it. In my humble opinion, the benefits from salting are greater than the pain of cutting the squash in half. But remember, you’re the boss of the squash.

I love this method for the set it and forget it convenience. Works just as well as microwave, but I ranked it below because the lid prevents evaporation, and that can lead to a just slightly more wet squash in the end.

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash in the Pressure Cooker/Instant Pot

Yes, I ranked the pressure cooker last. By a long shot. Color me surprised, too. I mean, the pressure cooker is the reason I discovered this longer noodles hack in the first place. But after many, MANY attempts to achieve spaghetti squash nirvana using the pressure cooker, I have determined that it is too finicky to be recommended. In almost every case, the squash I have cooked in the pressure cooker have come out mushy (Michael would say “moo-shee”) and overcooked. It’s just too hard to monitor the cooking process, because you have to release the pressure, and then bring back up to pressure if it’s not cooked all the way, and then what if you set the timer for one minute too long? Gah….my testing memories are coming back to haunt me.

If you insist, though, here are the cooking times I would recommend as starting point for cooking spaghetti squash in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot.

Whole: Pour 1 cup of water into the pot, and place the squash whole on a metal trivet. Cook for 15-17 minutes at high pressure, with a quick release after the cooking time is up.

Halved: De-seed the squash, and salt it for 15 minutes on the metal trivet inside the pot. Add 1 cup water to the moisture that was released after salting, then cook for 5 minutes at high pressure, with a quick release after the time is up. If the squash is not cooked, cook for 1 more minute at high pressure, with a quick release. If it needs more time than that, you’re probably muttering “why didn’t I listen to Beth?” under your breath, and finding your biggest microwave-safe dish. But what do I know? Maybe you’ll be the pressure cooker whisperer and end up with perfectly cooked squash. Good for you. 🙂

This squash was cooked in the pressure cooker. For one minute too long. Mushy city. Like, I couldn’t eat it mushy. Don’t let this happen to you.

Fat Wallet Tips!

Spaghetti squash is typically priced by the pound, so keep that mind when choosing your specimens at the grocery store. An exception is Costco, where they typically sell a 2-pack of big, heavy spaghetti squash for about $6. Remember that longer isn’t better when it comes to spaghetti squash. The wider, the better. So pick a short, stubby squash, and you’ll likely pay a little less.

If you are the sort of person who likes to grow things in dirt, one great way to save money on spaghetti squash is to grow it yourself! Granted, the waiting time is just a tad longer than a trip to the grocery store, but wouldn’t it be so fun to just walk out in your own front yard and pick a spaghetti squash for dinner? That’s what happened when I planted spaghetti squashin our front yard garden box. As you’ll see from the bottom picture, there’s a reason we won’t grow them in the front yard again. But for the price of a packet of seeds and a bit of your time, you can get tons of squash to last you all winter!

You may be wondering, once you have these nifty noodles, what do you with them? Personally, I love to add them to actual spaghetti. The squash noodles mix in with the pasta nearly seamlessly. Eating the squash alone is low-carb, yes, but it can also be watery and I tend to focus on the fact that I’m not eating pasta. By mixing it in with the pasta, you get a medium-carb option. Here are a few recipes that will pair perfectly!

Wrapping It Up

In summary, if you want your spaghetti squash to actually look like spaghetti, defy convention and cut it across the middle. You will be rewarded with lovely long strands of deliciousness. Pretty cool, huh?

Will you be trying this method? Please let me know if you do! Share a comment here, or tag @eatwithinyourmeans and #eatwithinyourmeans on Instagram! You’re the best.

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Description

The best way to cook spaghetti squash to get long noodles that actually look like spaghetti!

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash (the fatter the better)

Instructions

Oven Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Slice ends off the squash, then cut widthwise into halves or rings. Run a knife around the interior of each piece to remove the seeds.

Place squash on an oven-safe cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle both sides with salt. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the salt to draw moisture out. Wipe away excess salt and moisture, then bake for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then peel the skin away and separate the strands into long “noodles”.

Microwave Instructions

Slice ends off the squash, then cut widthwise into halves or rings. Run a knife around the interior of each piece to remove the seeds. Place the squash in a microwave-safe dish and salt each piece generously. Allow to sit for 15 minutes, then wipe away excess salt and moisture. Leave any moisture that collected in the dish. Cook on high for 8 minutes, increasing the time in 1-minute increments until the squash is cooked through. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before separating into “noodles.”

Slow Cooker Instructions

Slice ends off the squash, then cut widthwise into halves or rings. Run a knife around the interior of each piece to remove the seeds. Place the squash in the slow cooker and lightly salt each piece. Cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 5 hours. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before separating into “noodles.”

Pressure Cooker Instructions

Whole: Pour 1 cup of water into the pot, and place the squash whole on a metal trivet. Cook for 15-17 minutes at high pressure, with a quick release after the cooking time is up.

Halved: Slice ends off the squash, then cut widthwise into halves or rings. Run a knife around the interior of each piece to remove the seeds. Salt squash for 15 minutes on the metal trivet inside the pot. Add 1 cup water to the moisture that was released after salting, then cook for 5 minutes at high pressure, with a quick release after the time is up. If the squash is not cooked, cook for 1 more minute at high pressure, with a quick release.

1 cup423.9 g27.9 mg0.4 g10 g1 g0 mg

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About Beth

Beth Hornback is a food photographer and recipe developer based in the Pacific Northwest. She never tires of snuggling with her two beautiful kids and owes piles of chocolate chip cookies to her husband, aka the most wonderful person she knows. Keep in touch with Beth on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

Hi Beth, yesterday I bought my first spaguetti squash… and now i’m planning our family lunch. Can you explain to me (step by step) the cooking method in the preassure cooker? How much water do you need? Time? To get ‘al dente pasta’… and not a sticky one. Thanks

Hi Trinidad! Thank you for reminding me that I need to do a post about this. I’ll do my best to walk you through it, although please be aware that because every squash is a bit different in size and every pressure cooker has its own temperament, so to speak, I can’t guarantee al dente results, but I’ll give it my best shot!

1) Add 1 inch of water to the bottom of the pressure cooker 2) Insert the steamer tray/basket if you have one (if not, no biggie at all) 3) Cut the squash in half once across the width, remove the seeds, and place both halves in the pressure cooker. If the halves don’t fit, cut each half into two (so you’ll have fourths) and they should fit with a little finagling 4) Lock the lid in place and bring the PC to high pressure, then reduce the heat to low while maintaining the pressure, and cook for 7 minutes. 5) Use the quick release method to release the pressure 6) If the squash is not cooked to your liking, repeat steps 4 and 5, cooking for just 1 minute once you bring it to pressure.

I hope that works! Please tell me how it goes for you.

P.S. If you’re lucky, the squash will just fall out of the skin after it’s cooked! 🙂

Hi Iris! So, there are two possibilities for the crunch factor – one, the squash needed a longer cooking time. All squash are a little bit different size-wise, so the 30 minutes is just a starting point, some squash might need another 5-10 minutes, depending on your preference. The other possibility is that you got what I a calling a “dud squash”. I have had a couple recently that just never cooked properly, it was like they were old and tough. I’ve had a lot of feedback on this method recently, and about 80% of the people have had great results, and the rest reported crunchy noodles. It’s so hard to know exactly what happened, but when you try again, go ahead and give it more cooking time if you feel it needs it. Good luck! 🙂

Hi Ron! I’m so sorry for the delay in responding to your question. Spaghetti squash softens the longer you cook it – the texture is a personal preference, so if you cook it a bit longer than you like for your kids, they should be happy. 🙂 You can also mix it in with regular cooked pasta and it will kind of hide in the noodles, making an ordinary plate of spaghetti more nutritious. 🙂

Hi Christi! You’re so sweet. <3 When I grew spaghetti squash, I just stored it whole in a cool, dark place (like my garage) until I was ready to keep it. Winter squash stores well for months, so it wasn't a problem. I never have leftovers that I don't eat within a few days, so I just keep the cooked squash in the fridge. Believe it or not, I have never frozen it, but I'll give it a try and report back. 🙂

Hi. I just wanted to share this little tidbit for those who don’t have an oven big enough to stand the squash up when you cut it width wise or don’t have an oven at all. I am the latter. I did mine on my outdoor grill. It has 3 burners and if I put them all on low, it keeps a temperature of around 375 to 400 degrees. I just made a tin foil pan the size of the grilling surface and made sure the lid could close over it. Then I followed your directions from there out and it turned out fantastic. It had the smokey flavor of the grill. Delicious. Just thought you might like to know.

Hi Beth, trying to find a place to ‘reply’ just so I can send you a comment. I’m SO pleased to find your advice on cutting a squash into rounds. This is a GAME CHANGER and makes so much sense. Not to mention it turned out terrific as I followed your advise to salt ahead of time and I did have to bake for 45 min (30 wasn’t quite enough) and then it cooled. I loosened the ‘noodles’ and kept the skin on as a bowl. It was just wonderful with my pasta red sauce on top. I am watching carbing so I didn’t add regular noodles. I will never do squash another way. You are a genius! Thank you!

Ok, the cutting it part is still not super fun, but it’s much easier to cut it in rings than to cut down the whole length. AND, cutting the seeds out is a breeze, just run a sharp knife around the interior of the rings and they slide right off. I’m pretty sure I’m going to cut all my squash this way from now on, even the non-noodle varieties. I love things that make my life easier. I’m so glad you will try this! Let me know how it goes. 🙂

Love the idea but just tried to cut in rings and as I got closer to the end, felt too nervous as these little stinkers are so hard to cut through. (Even microwaved it for several min as I usually do before cutting them. How did you do yours safely?

I’ll make it even easier for you! Just prick the uncut squash with a fork a few times and bake it like a potato in a hot oven — 400 – 450 degrees until the squash feels soft. You will likely have to turn it once or twice for even cooking. I use the convection setting on my oven, but anything will work. You can use your microwave as well. No matter which oven, its a very fast method of cooking this typo of squash — which acts as its own mini pressure cooker steaming the noodles inside. While the squash is doing its thing, you can take a nap or make the sauce. When the squash is soft, remove from oven and cut it down the MIDDLE as advised above, NOT lengthwise. Remove the seeds and their sticky orange fibers and use a fork to separate the long concentric spaghetti strands. I have not found the squash cooked this way to be watery or mushy at all. The noodles will be moist, slightly sweet, with a pleasant al dente texture.

Great to find this out! I do the squash/real pasta thing too. The spaghetti squash is also good used as Chinese street noodles. Getting it dry is important; after I scrape the noodles out I sling them in the microwave a bit to dry them further before adding anything.

It worked alright, but my microwave isn’t big enough to do slices so I cut in half to cook. It cooked unevenly, but started to scrape out going around until I got to the skin. I got some long and short spaghetti. it was very good with chicken Alfredo sauce. I plan to do this again, but using the oven method.

It’s all trial and error, isn’t it? Adventures in cooking! 🙂 Thanks so much for letting me know how it went. I hope you have better luck with the oven method, and stay tuned for an upcoming recipe that uses yet another (even more convenient) method! 🙂

Hi, Rebecca! Oh, your life is about to change. Seriously. 🙂 If you want to start with just a straight-up pressure cooker, no bells and whistles, I would go with the Presto 8-Quart Pressure Cooker. It’s a stovetop model, as opposed to electric. If, however, you want something that performs other functions as well, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend an Instant Pot. It is not only an electric pressure cooker, but it’s also a slow cooker (with a sauté function!), a yogurt maker, rice cooker, and just general cooking pot. I have both, and use them all the time. I regularly make non-dairy yogurt (which becomes sour cream) in the Instant Pot and it works perfectly. I am reminded that I need to write a post about this, so thank you! Let me know if you have any questions on this – I’m pretty passionate on the topic. 🙂

Actually, most of the time when I am reading food blogs, I just scroll down to the recipe bc I am short on time! However, for yours (bc I love your humorous tips AND bc I know and love you and you are my family, I usually read the whole thing), but I was in a hurry when I looked at this, so I cheated and just scrolled down to the actual recipe/tip section and that i why I totally missed the link! Now I know better….no shortcuts. Read the whole thing, stupid! 😉

Glad I saw this! I was wondering too- and just from this exchange, I already know I’ll love this blog! What kind people are here! Heard about it from my PCOS group- thanks so much! Makin this next weekend 🙂

I am going to give you constructive criticism here! I enjoyed your blog, a funny, chatty narrative! Are you telling me a story? Or are you giving me a tip about Spaghetti Squash? which I always cook the wrong way and scrape out the cooked interior with a fork and all is fine for me (IS there really a wrong way?!! Bring on the squash…I love it anyway!) or are you treating me to a recipe? I hardly ever read food blogs and have been utterly spoiled by this one, possibly because she’s a fellow Brit and cuts straight to the chase! Check her out for the way she does her cooking blogs: http://thecakedcrusader.blogspot.com/2009/03/cherry-bakewell-cake.html If you have time check me out too! Boomering(dot)org

Your “thecakedcrusader.blogspot…..” isn’t half the fun as Beth’s blog is. I love to read her blog. I don’t think it’s long-winded. Please don’t encourage someone to change who they are or how they write, especially if there are tons who like it just as is. If you prefer others, then just leave it, and read others!

I’m with Kristen. Don’t change who you are for others. After all, you can’t please the masses. I did have one thought though…I’m an avid recipe reader and a bit of a freestyle cook. So, the first time I do a new dish I almost always end up mashing together 3 different recipes for the same thing after reading reader feedback who actually made the dish. Needless to say it sometimes helps to just get to the recipe. (But I personally do love a personal story it is what makes you, you!) Other cooks are just in a hurry to get the meal on the table for their hungry family. So, one thing I’ve noticed in some other blogs is a hyperlink at the top of the page that jumps you down immediately to the recipe. One blog I follow took it further so there is a link to the recipe, just to the comments (hers even divides feedback from those who made and those who are just leaving a comment) and then another link to a print friendly version. Again, don’t change and keep the stories going – just thought I’d mention it in case it seems like something you’d want to do going forward. Keep cooking and blogging!

An accidental genius, maybe. I just love stumbling onto discoveries like this, and I get so excited I want to tell everyone. And then I have to remember that the majority of people don’t get excited over spaghetti squash. But they should! 🙂 Oh, and it’s much easier to manage. Getting the seeds out is a dream, just run a sharp knife around the interior of the rings before cooking, they fall right off. Please let me know if you try this!

Hi Beth. thanks for sharing your genuis finds. Congrats on becoming a Mom. Here in Houston,Texas we have yucky weather. Your area is beautiful . I signed up for emails. Hope to get more great recipes . I have wanted to go Began for a long time . You are going to be a great help on my journey. 🙂

Hi, Beth. I’m so glad I stopped by your blog. I am geeking out on your discovery and happen to have a spaghetti squash that needs to be cooked soon. I want those long strands. Thanks for the information!

Hi Angie, thanks for your feedback. I have encountered my fair share of tough squashes, it’s a bummer. I’m sorry you had such a tough time. The instructions say to cut it this way for a shorter cook time and an easier time getting out the seeds. However, you can also roast it whole and then cut it into the rings afterward. I’ll update the instructions with that option to save others from the tough squash syndrome. I hope it turned out well at least! 🙂

I plan on trying it as I just started a new eating program and this is my option for spaghetti noodles. Plus I don’t want to cook the whole thing at once because I am probably the only one in my family that will eat it. I would like to know more about the pressure cooker as I would love to cook it in 15 minutes. It’s hot here in California right now and the thought of heating up the house for a few noodles is not something I really want to do. Thanks for the tips.

Hi Katrina! I’m doing a more in-depth post about the pressure cooker(s) I use next week. I totally hear you about not wanting to turn on the oven! In the meantime, I’m sure you can microwave the squash, if you’re comfortable with that cooking option. I’m so glad that this will be useful for you!

Thank you for this post! I have a spaghetti squash and had no idea how to even begin to cook it. I found you through Pinterest, and I’m so glad I did! I’m also looking to eat more of a whole foods plant-based diet while trying not to break the bank, so imagine my excitement when I found your blog! I’m looking forward to your future posts!

Hi Serena! Sorry I am just now replying, but I wanted to tell you that your comment made my day! I’m so glad you found me. Please let me know if you have any specific questions or recipe requests, I’m here for you! Are you signed up on the e-mail list?

So I tried this today and it was a great trick, but please tell me since this was my very first…are they always so hard to cut??? I almost gave up and was going to let it ripen thinking that was case, but decided to keep at it. So, what is the trick? Thanks for the baking tip!

Hi Lisa! I’m so glad you tried this and it worked for you. I totally understand about the squash being hard to cut – it can really be a workout! This is pretty much the case for any hard squash like spaghetti, butternut, kabocha, etc. One thing you might try next time is baking it whole and cutting it afterward. The baking time might be a little longer, and it’s harder to know for sure when it’s “done”, so you might find that cutting it yields more predictable results. I’m planning on doing a video on how to cut the squash soon since this is the second comment I’ve had about the difficult time cutting it. I’m so glad you persevered!

Hi Margaret! So sorry, I seemed to have missed this question! I put about an inch of water in the pressure cooker and place the squash on the raised insert. Bring to high pressure and cook for 8 minutes. Use the quick release method and then check to see if the “noodles” are separating. If not, bring back to high pressure and cook for another 2 minutes, using the quick release method again. Good luck! And sorry again for missing your question the first time.

I love this squash and I thank you for your information on how to cook. I used to hate it as a kid, it was called the poor mans squash in our house because of the texture. I bought one last week and it cost me $8.00 Australian so it is definitely no longer for the poor man. I will have to look at growing instead. .

Beth, I love your ideas but need some help. I am very fortunate that my mom cooks for me and my husband three times a week. She is willing to try some new, healthier recipes but hates her oven and won’t use it, and comes from the generation that believes pressure cookers are dangerous and refuses to use one. So…… can you convert this into a microwave recipe? Please?

Hi Lisa! Absolutely you can do this in the microwave. I would cut the squash into rings (can be larger than 1″ if you don’t want to make too many cuts), and then put the rings in a microwave-safe dish, covered loosely with a lid or plastic wrap that’s vented a bit to let steam escape. Microwave on high power for 8 minutes and then use a fork to see if the squash is soft and the “noodles” are separating. If it’s not cooked after 8 minutes, cook in two minute intervals until it’s ready. Good luck! Please let me know if you have any more questions, I’m here to help! And I won’t take 3 days to respond next time. 🙂

Hi Laurie! Thanks for the question. By 15 minutes I mean from the time I put the pressure cooker on the stove to the time I release it. I would start with 8 minutes at high pressure, using about an inch of water in the bottom of the cooker and the squash on the raised insert. The total time all depends on the size of the squash, especially if you choose to cut it in half rather than in the 1″ rings. I’ve had a few comments about the squash being hard to cut, and I totally get that. I’d start with 8 minutes, and use the quick release method. If you think it needs to cook a little longer bring it up to pressure again for a couple more minutes and you should be good to go! I’m so glad you are enjoying the tips! Let me know how it goes. 🙂

Hi Amanda! Pressure cookers are so great, right? I used about an inch of water and put the squash in the raised insert. I didn’t use any seasoning, but you certainly could! I liked leaving it as a blank canvas to use in other dishes. I’ve had a lot of interest in the pressure cooker method so I think I’m going to make it into its own post, but I would start with 8 minutes at high pressure for a cooking time, and use the quick release method. Happy “noodle” making! 🙂

I made it with the pressure cooker tonight & used an inch of water, like you suggested. I cooked it on high for 8 minutes. It turned out perfectly! I stuffed the squash in some portabello mushrooms & topped them with pizza toppings (idea from another blog)! Quick, healthy & very tasty!! Thank you for the technique!

Hi Lisa! As it happens, I’m planning a post all about this later this week. I can tell you now though that I really recommend the Instant Pot. It has every feature you could possibly need, and can even make rice and yogurt! The important distinction is that it’s electric versus a stovetop model. I own both, and will be sharing the pros and cons of each in my upcoming post. Stay tuned! 🙂

Hi Tania! I bought the one for this post back in April, where it was probably hitting the end of winter squash season. We’re just now getting into the fall and you should start seeing the larger spaghetti squash at your market soon. I can’t remember where I got mine, but maybe ask the produce manager at your store when you might expect to see more selection. 🙂 Good luck!

Beth, Your post was funny and eloquent – well written. I’ve only cooked it once, back in the early 90’s, and felt disappointed by the endeavor but never inspected my feelings closely enough to get to the root of my dissatisfaction. It was the short strands that copped it for me. Even if the recipe had been delicious (which I have a vague recollection that it wasn’t), I wanted the spaghetti experience, and truncated strands did NOT deliver. Recently, my squash-hating husband announced that he wanted to try spaghetti squash, so here we go! I will be making a full-bodied marinara/meat sauce with fresh garlic and basil to ladle over it, will let you know how it turns out. Thank you for possibly salvaging what would have been another “meh” experience. ^_^

Hi Alder! Thank you so much for your kind words. I really love how you described your “meh” experience of spaghetti squash. I truly hope this next time around is a better experience! Please keep me posted. Oh, and if you ever care to try a plant-based “meat” sauce option, I recently posted a Vegetable Bolognese that would be perfect for a veggie option. 🙂

Cut the squash per instructions, baked it on a cookie sheet, but think I may have overcooked it because it didn’t separate into strands very well like in my fantasies — BUT — husband ATE it and LIKED it fine, soooooo… I would call that a success! I will cook it again and just monitor the time better. Admittedly I operate at a distinct disadvantage because my oven does NOT get to or keep temp as it should. It just flat-out lies. Anyways, thanks again for the pro-tip about the alternate prep method.

The secret to cutting your spaghetti squash is quite simply. I tend to get the oblong ones about the size of the one you have pictured above. I have a knife that I don’t use very much. I take the knife put “vent holes” in both ends of the squash by placing the knife on it and tapping it with a meat mallet. I then put the squash in the microwave for 3 minutes to soften it a little, then I place the knife crossways on the squash and tap the tip end with the meat mallet and the knife goes through smoothly without any problems.

This was awesome!! My partner (and myself by proxy) is doing a low-carb thing and we gave it a shot. It came out really good (we used the squash as pasta) and your directions were great! As you warned, the only downside was it was a little watery as pasta but that is easily remedied. We are going to be using this a lot in the future- thank you!

Wow! I am really excited to find this. Not only to learn how to cut it properly, but for the tip about adding it to regular pasta! I was going to take some for a church potluck, and was afraid there might not be enough to go around, but I wanted to make a low carb dish. this solves both problems! Besides adding pasta, I am also adding chicken and alfredo sauce and tons of gooey mozzarella.

I have been making spaghetti squash for decades and long ago ditched the baking method. I just microwave the entire squash whole until soft, then cut lengthwise, de-seed and shred the strands. Problem is the squash is SO hot I end up burning my hands trying to get all the strands out. No more! I will still microwave it but then cut as you have shown. I can hold the rings with 2 fingers and scrape the “meat”. I’m really excited for this tip!

Hi Beth, I’m soooooooo happy I read this and learned to cut the squash this way! It is by far so much easier to prepare and I will be doing it this way from now on. I wanted to comment on the problem so many seem to have while cutting the squash. I find it easier when cutting into the squash to start the cut and kind of rock the squash a little as you keep a tight grip on the knife. This seems to be a little easier for me. Also, another little tidbit, when the squash was done baking and I started pulling the squash away from the outer shell I had an idea to leave the pulled spaghetti inside the ring, top with grated parmesan cheese and bake a little longer then using a spatula plate the entire squash ring and top with marinara or meat sauce and serve. It resembles a little bowl of spaghetti. Thanks so very much for you brilliant tip on how to prepare spaghetti squash! I love it.

I just put the whole squash in the pressure cooker (but I use my tall pressure canner for it). That way I don’t have to cut it…but even after that, I’ve been cutting it lengthwise. I will now be cuttiing them in rings from here on out. Thanks so much!

Hi Becky! Try cutting it half just once across the middle. I did that in the pressure cooker and the skin slipped off in one big piece. It was amazing! I’m going to try it again, just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, and if it works, I’ll post some specific pressure cooker instructions. I’m so glad this is going to be helpful for you!

Hi there! Squash are stubborn when it comes to being butchered, aren’t they? 🙂 I’ve seen some great tips in the comments here, including microwaving for a minute or two to soften the skin just enough to make cutting easier. A big, heavy, sharp knife is also key!

Thanks so much for these tips! I made this and even my carnivorous husband loved it. It was my first time making spaghetti squash, so I can’t compare it to cutting the other way, but this was really easy. I did microwave the whole squash for about a minute and it wasn’t too hard to cut.

Thank you so much for posting this. I was actually getting ready to make my first spaghetti squash ever a couple weeks ago, but didn’t know how. So I popped onto Pinterest to look for tips. I happened to click on yours first and I’m SO glad I did! The 1″ ring method works perfectly. I found though that if I bake for 45 mins, it comes out sweeter than I like so I cut the bake time to 35 mins which gives the perfect taste and “tooth” to my “spaghetti” and it holds up beautifully under spaghetti sauce. I went out and bought a cauliflower to try your cauliflower sauce next. I’m hoping to emulate an alfredo sauce for the spaghetti squash. Thanks again, you’ve fueled my new addiction…exploring all the cool dishes I can make with this squash instead of pasta noodles!

So Fantastic! I have been sharing this idea with my friends ever since I figured it out as well! It also works for me to just cut once across the width. Then when you spoon out the noodles same thing long and happy! 🙂

Hi Sarah! If you’re talking about the last photo in the post with the mushrooms, there is a mix of traditional spaghetti pasta and spaghetti squash in that bowl, as indicated in the post. The squash blends in almost seamlessly with the pasta, for a “medium-carb” option (my pitiful attempt at humor). As for the rest of the images, I can assure you they are all real! And I have several reputable witnesses who will attest to this. 🙂

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! This was my very first attempt at spaghetti squash….I wasn’t sure the my picky eaters would approve, but the empty pot confirms their approval!!!! This is a keeper!!!!

OMG… This is genius. It was my first squash and it was a dream. Skin peeled off like a banana. My husband was amazed. (Say’s he want it every week) I made a shrimp and mushroom cream and parm cheese sauce to go over it. It was like eating shrimp fett. Thank you so much. It had a hint of sweet, but we loved it. Thanks again.

Just tried this method, never having even heard of spaghetti squash. So glad I found it before I did it wrong and gave up. Baked it whole for an hour and It came out a little too firm, not knowing how long to bake it so I steamed it in the pressure cooker for 10 minutes after I had peeled, cored and separated. Seasoned it with salt and Parmesan and topped it with a pressure cooker steamed sweet potato mixed with cinnamon and brown sugar. Delicious!

My 5-year-old daughter wants to eat nothing but pasta, grilled cheese, or scrambled eggs. I’ve just bought my very first spaghetti squash to hopefully trick her the next time she asks for pasta. This is a great tip to make it look more like spaghetti!!! I have a question. Once I cook the squash, how long will it last? Can I cook it and put it in the fridge for a few days, or do I need to use it immediately? Thanks so much!!!

I’m so happy I saw this just as I was about to slice my squash lengthwise! I sautéed up some fresh spinach, mushrooms and chickpeas with a little bit of garlic and a lot of curry…. Threw some fresh tomatoes on top! I will definitely do this again !! My only problem was slicing my finger opened on the can of chickpeas, LOL cutting the squash was no problem! so this project ended up taking three hours due to the emergency room visit and the fact that I had to complete the meal with one hand. I sit now with my elevated hand, glass of wine, and my spicy dish of spaghetti squash and veggies. I’m so glad I learned this trick! Thank you

This was my first attempt at spaghetti squash so I looked up ‘how to cook’. One of the first I read showed the classic down the length cut. But the cook also mentioned the strands run ’round the squash……….so I wondered…why by the length. I continued on, found your site……….wonderful. It works. Tasty strands you HAVE to spin on a fork. Thanks for sharing your ‘derring-do’. I’ll refer folks to you with enthusiasm. One aside: I’m 70, so I’m going to find a way to use an electric blade. I thought folks were exaggerating when they said the squash is hard to cut.

I just purchased my first pressure cooker and would love to know where to find help on how to use it. It came with a few recipes but virtually no instructions. And the recipes were for huge number of servings. I love leftovers but I am only cooking for two. I saw on your post that you love yours

Hi Carol! I know how you feel, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of great resources for pressure cookers, and a lot of instructions can be really confusing. I’m really hoping to add more pressure cooker instructions/tutorials here on the blog. In the meantime, here is a great post from The Kitchn that talks about electric pressure cookers, and then I would also check out Hip Pressure Cooking. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing! That’s how I do it in the pressure cooker. The only reason I like the rings is it’s super easy to cut away the seeds and stringy part, and I have a heck of a time doing that after it’s been cooked. It’s good to have options. 🙂

i make spaghetti squash all the time and I never fuss with cutting it first. Just pierce it with a knife (I actually kind of cut a slit in it) and pop the whole thing in the oven. Cook it 45 min to an hour at 350, until it feels soft when you squeeze it. I always cut it in half across the width – and cooked, it is super soft and easy to cut…you could easily cut rings at this point if you wanted – scoop out the seeds and then the strands. Perfect every time. Just be sure to hold it with a kitchen towel or pot holder while removing the strands….hot!!

I bought my first spaghetti squash and just attempted to cut it and it was near impossible! My hands cramped up a bunch during the process and the fact that I didn’t lose a finger (or hand) during the process is pure luck. I even put the whole thing in the microwave for a minute at a time three times. I stabbed it once or twice with a knife before putting it in the microwave but even that was hard to do (couldnt pierce very far in) – I was scared it was going to explode in the microwave. Do you have any tips for how to make it easier (and safer) to cut the spaghetti squash? Should I poke holes in it all over with a fork and microwave for a few minutes before I try to cut it?

Firstly, I’m so sorry for the delay in responding to your comment! I’m returning from maternity leave and am playing catch-up. I’m actually going to try to do a post with a video that talks about how to cut the spaghetti squash. I didn’t realize so many people would have challenges with it, or I would have addressed it in the original post. So sorry it was such a tough time for you! Two things I would recommend: 1) a BIG, heavy, sharp knife. I use a 10 inch chef’s knife, and put all my weight into it when pushing it down into the squash. That helps a lot. 2) I would recommend microwaving the squash for a few minutes first before cutting – it shouldn’t explode on you. I’ve seen several commenters make that suggestion, so I know it works for a lot of people. Good luck and keep me posted! 🙂

Simple way to do it…cut it crosswise in the middle…put both pieces face down in boiling water and boil for 15 minutes…take out of water and let drain a few minutes…then just run a fork around the inside and core all the “noodles” out…easy fast…no baking, microwaving, pressure cooking, and they run out the same as cutting rings.

great post! We eat spaghetti squash a lot in my house. It’s one of our favorites. I’ve always cut my squash length-wise and never realized I was chopping the spaghetti strands and making them short. Your experiment proves the strands run round and round and if we chop our squashes properly, we can have long spaghetti-like strands with no additional effort. Perfect! This is a great discovery!

It does have some texture, but it shouldn’t be crunchy. The hard part about a recipe for cooking squash is that they are all different sizes. So, if yours happened to be a little thicker than average, it might have needed a bit more time. This is where you as the cook might have to exercise your best judgment – I wish I could be more precise but that is part of the wonderful world of cooking. 🙂

To keep my sauce or toppings from getting runny I prep the squash like an eggplant. Put the rings on a cooling rack and salt both sides. You will be amazed how much water comes out of the pulp in 20 minutes. Wipe off the excess salt, season, and cook!

Thank you so much for this GREAT tip!! I bought a spaghetti squash so that I could have “spaghetti” with the family tonight (I am following a Ketogenic Diet)! I have also cut it lengthwise in the past, and followed a recipe that had me cut it in half, lengthwise then roast it in my roaster with water it the bottom. It made it entirely too “wet”. I look forward to giving this a try!

Hi Tammy! How did this go for you? I just added an update at the end of the post about salting the squash prior to roasting, which draws out a lot of the water. That will help further combat the wetness problem! Please let me know if you give it a try, I’d love to hear from you!

Hi Jeannette! I typed up a reply when I was on a plane last week, and just realized that it didn’t post here! My apologies. I like to bake it without oil, because I don’t find that it adds anything in terms of texture or flavor, but you’re welcome to try it! I DO recommend salting the squash first though, as it lets some of the water come out prior to roasting, and grealy improves the texture. See update #3 at the end of this post for more info!

Hi Gabby! Good golly, I’m sorry it has taken me so long to reply. I thought I had, but obviously not. Also, did I just say Good Golly? (facepalm). Anyway…I’m happy to report that YES, you can definitely achieve an al-dente texture with this method. In fact, I just updated the post to add a new technique that I tried recently and found to work really well. If you salt the squash rings and let them sit on a cooling rack for about 20 minutes prior to roasting, the salt will draw out quite a bit of water, giving the resulting “noodles” a much better texture (firm, not wet or mushy). I hope you try it and let me know how it goes for you!

I bought a new Fissler 10-quart pressure cooker. I had to try this dish! So I bought a medium sized spaghetti squash. I did all the stuff you’ve discussed in this post. I cross-chopped the squash into 6 disk/rings. I put them on a cooling rack and salted both sides. I let them sit for 1.5 hours and a TON of water had seeped out making the squash flesh much drier. This is exactly what this dish needed in the past whenever I’ve made it! I was very happy. We also discovered: if you use this salting method, the squash flesh is now salted! You needn’t add any more salt to the dish! Trust me on this one!

I used a steaming trivet inside the pressure cooker. I layered the disk/rings in the pot on the trivet. I cooked at pressure for 18 minutes. I quick-released the pressure, popped the lid, and voila! The squash was firm, moist but not at all soggy, and cooked! Wow! Just perfection!

From there it was just harvesting the flesh, mixing the other ingredients (fresh basil, fresh spinach, caramelized onions, fresh garlic, chopped olives, and shredded cheese. I put the mixture in a cast iron casserole dish and it came to about an inch thick — exactly right for this dish to cook well and not turn into soup. Baked on convection at 350F degrees for 33 minutes (the tips of the squash was turning brown and crispy and the cheese was fully melted). We pulled it out and gave it a few minutes to come down from the “volcano temperature” range.

The whole casserole was GONE! We devoured it! We were going to have hamburgers with it but we just couldn’t wait! This is a winner, folks! Squash, in general, is so good for human consumption. Having a WINNER method of preparation is just icing on the squash-cake!

Very good suggestions, all. I have baked, boiled, steamed, and microwaved spaghetti squash, all with equal success. Haven’t tried the pressure cooker – – – yet. A couple of quick additional tips: Cut off a small part of each end as your first step. Then you can either just cut and half and cook in your preferred method, using the two halves as bowls (they sit nicely since you cut the ends off!). Cooking with the closed end up seems to help them steam themselves and seems to reduce the cooking time slightly. Hard to tell though, as size of the squash plays into this. If you want to cut in rings as so brilliantly suggested, cut from each end, working in towards the middle. The middle is larger and easier to hold and you will struggle less with the end cuts. Second tip comes from pumpkin carving, which I do a lot of. Buy a small hack saw just for the kitchen. You can get the ‘regular’ kind, but they also make a short, compact kind that does nicely. Use it to cut the skin of hard rind veggies like many squash and even watermelon. You can either make a series of initial cuts where desired, then cut with your knife, or make ring cuts all the way around the veggie. (I don’t recommend cutting all the way through with the saw.) If you oil the blade slightly with spray or a bit of veggie oil, less of the bits of skin will stick to the saw teeth and it will be easier to clean. Wash and dry it soon after using it and the blade will be less likely to rust – which you don’t want in your kitchen. Was wondering if anyone has tried cooking spaghetti squash in a slow cooker. Seems that if you make a bowl out of the two halves, then fill with your favorite hearty sauce, you could slow cook it while doing other things. Would it meld the flavors, or just cook it down to an inedible mush?

Thanks Beth – we eat spaghetti squash a couple of times a year and have always baked it ‘skin side up’ in a water bath like the ‘purists’ insisted was the only way to cook it – I found your brilliant solution today and conveniently had a spaghetti squash on the counter waiting for dinner – I did have the extra time so cut the 1″ circles, liberally salted both sides, roasted on a raised rack and half way through the cooking time removed salt and water from the rings. THIS IS THE BEST SPAGHETTI SQUASH EVER! Enough said – other than THANKS!

Hi Michael!!! This makes me so very happy. I’m so glad that it worked out so well for you! Recently I’ve been playing with plating the cooked rings with whatever goes with it inside the hole. Then you can just twirl your fork to get a few strands of squash along with the filling. Leaves the ring behind, but kind of fun. 🙂

Great idea – last night I’d planned to add the roasted squash to sauteed mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and carrots, but as I said earlier, my adorable wife started eating the squash directly from the roasting rack and so shrimp and sauteed veggies became dessert – but I will definitely try ‘stuffing the rings’ on the next culinary adventure – thanks again!

Hi Beth – thanks for this recipe – it’s the best ever spaghetti squash – I followed your instructions including the liberal salting on both sides and removing salt and water half way through the roasting cycle – PERFECT!

Hi there! Appreciate you sharing your recipes and updates with tweeks. I did cut the spaghetti squash in rings (about killed my hands), salted them on both sides and sat in a rack for 20 minutes. Wiped each off with paper towel, then baked at 400 for 30 min. The squash was crunchy when we ate it. What did we do wrong?

First, so sorry about your hands. Some squash are just buggers to cut. I haven’t tried this yet, but I have heard that some people have luck with microwaving the squash whole for 3-4 minutes before cutting, it softens the skin so cutting is easier. The squash noodles will always have a bit of a “bite”, but the longer you cook them, the softer they will be. The trick is to get them soft enough to your liking without them being mushy. Next time (and I hope there will be a next time for you!), if the noodles are too crunch for you after 30 minutes, try baking them for another 5-10 minutes, and they should soften up a bit more for you. Every squash is different in terms of size and thickness, so the 30 minutes is a guide. I’ll update the instructions with that info as well. I hope that helps!

Oh thank you so much for that bit of info! The squash were quite large as I bought a two pack from Costco. Now I know for the future to try to find smaller squash to save my hands! Also, I found that once I got off the end piece and with the knife, cut out as much of the inside and seeds as I could, it was significantly easier to cut! That may be something to pass along as well. Thanks again for your hard work sharing with us!

Great tip about cutting the ends off first, Sara! It’s so funny you mention that, because I’m gearing up to edit my first video which will be on how to cut the squash, and I always cut the ends off first. I’ll give you credit! 🙂

Tried your method for cooking spaghetti squash and loved it! Not only does it cook faster but it’s more moist and has a better flavor. It looks like my favorite pasta, vermicelli which I plan to cook now and add it to the squash. So glad I clicked on your site!

First time cooking spaghetti squash. Great idea about the rings so I thought I would try it. Like many people commented, found it very hard to cut, at first. Lots of comments, so not sure if anyone suggested this yet. I ended up using a pumpkin carving kit that I got on clearence last Halloween. Worked great and it was cheap.

This was my first time cooking spaghetti squash. I’m glad I didn’t try other ways first because I really enjoyed it and its my new favorite healthy, low carb go to veggie…I seasoned with just salt and pepper first time and is good enough to eat plain, but next time added a little garlic, olive oil, and tomato sauce…very good!

I had no trouble cutting the small, raw squash with my cleaver. I then salted them, and went outside to tend to a few chores. I had used a LOT of salt and I forgot all about the squash sitting in all that salt. A few hours later, I rinsed and wiped them dry and microwaved each ring for 4 minutes. The texture was great but the taste was SO salty. Once I rinsed them a few more times, they were really good. In spite of the complications I threw into the process, this still seems the easiest and best way I could imagine to cut and cook spaghetti squash.

It was my first time & I had been anxious to try it for a long while & had only heard people tell me cut long ways… Well thank goodness I found your way first because it worked perfectly & was so easy – I did it on the metal cooling racks now can’t wait to tell my friends to try it – thanks

Hi Kira! So sorry for the delayed response, I took a bit of a break this summer and am playing catch-up now. I am actually in the process of making some updates to this post to share the pressure cooker instructions! I do like the “noodles” better when roasted, though, because more of the moisture evaporates in the hot oven as opposed to staying trapped in the pressure cooker. Also, with the pressure cooker, if the time is off by even one minute, the squash can get overcooked and that’s just no fun. So I like the oven because I can test it throughout the cooking process more easily. It’s one of the only times where I actually don’t recommend the pressure cooker, but I still want to include the instructions, in case people want to give it a go. Stay tuned for that! 🙂

I am anxiously awaiting PC instructions as well, even though your oven roasting and slicing technique gave me the best SS ever! But I just found my grandmother’s MIRRO pressure cooker which she used with great regularity since the 1950’s. I will check your site for other PC recipes, too.

I use my instant pot and don’t cut it at all. I leave it to cool and then the skin separates in its own. I can easily peel the skin away and get beautifully long strands as no or little cutting is necessary!

Hi Izzy! Thanks for pointing that out. I’m working on an update to this post and will definitely include the “pre-cut roasting” strategy for easier cutting. I sometimes use a heavy duty serrated bread knife, and that works well also. Lots of options. 🙂

WOW ! This method was great! had no problems cutting raw, salted both sides and baked for 35 minutes. did not have an issue with water and the flavor was great before I put anything else on it. Tried plain , with a little lime juice sprinkled on it, and with the spaghetti sauce and vegan mince. It was great. Next I’m going to use it to make vegetable pasted salad.

Always,ALWAYS prick holes in the squash before you put it into the microwave! I do better with a small paring knife than a fork. Towards the end of a long cook time I had one explode . All those strings stuck to the top of the oven…I laughed long and hard over that one ., although cleaning up was a major project!

We’ve made a spaghetti squash bake twice in the last week. It’s so good! Anyway, Izzy Song said on Oct 3 that she bakes her spaghetti squash whole. We had never tried that but with that suggestion, we did. That’s like the coolest thing! I set the oven on Convection Bake at 375F. I rub oil all over the squash and place it on a sheet pan. We bake the squash for 45 – 60 minutes, depending on the size of the squash (that took some experimentation but it’s not too difficult). The skin of the squash browns pretty good and at first we thought we had burned it. We took it out and let it cool for 15 – 20 minutes. Then we cut it crosswise, like this thread originally suggests, to prevent cutting the spaghetti strands. We found that the meat of the squash turned loose from the skin! It was the easiest method we’ve found so far to remove flesh from the skin! Wonderful! And the spaghetti strands were unbroken, just like the theme of this thread started out trying to help us all achieve. I just keep reading people’s suggestions and comments and I keep on learning new things that keep improving my spaghetti squash experience. So, thank you to everyone who comments. Keep them coming and long live the spaghetti squash!

5 MINUTES UNCUT SQUASH (with knife slits all around) IN THE MICRO did the trick for cutting!

i did this last night and IT WAS THE BEST (ring technique)i went to a DOZEN or so places and NOBODY KNEW THIS RING TRICK. nor the cooling rack technique. it cooked better, was easier to pull to strands. I cut it into 2 in. rings (less cutting) AND THE SALT TRICK WORKS GREAT [less watery] more al-dante’.

i added some garlic n coconut oil brush over the rings and it was yum. i put it under my goulash left overs and it was YUM. [made the squash a little soft, next time i will warm up the topping first lol] tonight i make buttery shrimp/spinach replacing the angel hair with the squash. it will be yum. this is a real treat cause i just started the PALEO SECRET 30 DAY CHALLENGE. NOTHING REPLACES PASTA, but this is a CLOSE SECOND! gratts to you for this wonderful discovery/switch to the RINGS.

my quest as a chiropractor is to lead people to SUBSTITUTE their way of eating [discovering for themselves what THEY LIKE TO EAT and what textures they like] and preparing with easy replacements to eat cleaner. to cook in a unique way and have fun and not rush cooking. I believe the real HEALTH to cooking STARTS with the cook, cooking in a zen-like meditation with loving care, no rushing and slowly eating with gratitude. sipping on a glass of wine. lol SOMETHING i have failed to do in the past. so may patients of mine say the simply don’t have time to cook. and I say, “but you do have time to get sick. How much time does it take to then get well?” [just saying] grin

oh, and as for the seeds. i used a big colander, a small colander, a small strainer and a spoon with holes in it. all day i occasionally stirred and agitated the seeds and flesh. i put the colander in a Pyrex bowl with water so as to make the seeds float. the SPOON was the secret. they just floated into the small colander with perfect separation. another strainer was used for the flesh and in no time i had perfectly separated seeds. I have seen no other suggestions like this except that it was a chore. this technique took a little time but was NOT A CHORE.

I have never cooked or eaten a spaghetti squash but I have always wanted to try it out. I am so glad I found this site!! I don’t feel so overwhelmed by the thought of it now! I plan on making Chicken Marsala and using the squash instead of pasta, and I am hoping this works well together. We will see!

Hi! I discovered your site thanks to Food Blogger Pro! This post is awesome! We actually just posted about spaghetti squash yesterday. We love it so much! We posted : Spaghetti Squash Noodles + Arugula Pesto : http://ahedgehoginthekitchen.com/spaghetti-squash-noodles/. Thanks again for this great post!

Ok, so i did this, but then found it hard to separate the spaghetti squash strands? How do you do it? a video showing that would be helpful. I tried running a fork through them, but they just broke and become smaller strands. What do you think? It’s too late for this round, but I’ll come back to the blog to check your answer for my next round through.

Hi Shawn! It sounds like the squash might have gotten a tad overcooked, if the noodles were breaking apart so easily. It’s so hard to know the exact right cooking time for each squash, and some ovens run hot, so the variables make it hard to diagnose what went wrong. I’m actually working on a major update to this post, including a video, and should have that out in a few days. I’ll make sure to send you a note when I publish it! 🙂

I have found a way to cut through thick skins of squash. I use either a Chinese cleaver or a large butcher knife and I position it on the squash and then I hit it with a rubber mallet until it goes through. It’s been easy and safe. Your fingers are not in the way — one hand on mallet and one on knife handle.

Hi Beth, Thank you so much for sharing this blog. Very informative. Unfortunately, my spaghetti squash didn’t cook up quite right. I followed your instructions as listed (even did the 20 minutes with salt prior to cooking) and it came out very dry, hard, and seemingly uncooked in texture. Couldn’t even scape the noodles apart with a fork. I ended cooking it for another 15 minutes and finally just cutting off the skin and microwaving the flesh for another 5 minutes after a quick rinse in water. That seemed to do the trick. The only thing I can figure that went wrong is that my spaghetti squash was not fresh from the store and had been sitting around in my kitchen for awhile, which probably had already somewhat dehydrated it so it didn’t have enough moisture to cook properly. Once the extra cooking methods mentioned above were added, it was delish. I made “linguine” with clams. I can’t wait to try it out again with a fresh one from the store to see if I have better luck with the cooking time/method you gave above. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I also can’t wait to try your vegetable bolognese sauce as well on top of the spaghetti squash. =)

Hi Maria-Elaina, I’m so sorry to hear your squash was a dud. 🙁 I’ve had similar experiences with older squash, it really can make a difference. I can’t wait to hear how you like the vegetable bolognese on the spaghetti squash! I’m hungry for that myself at the moment.

This was my first year to cook, taste AND GROW not only Spaghetti Squash, but also Butternut. I used your FANTASTIC method to slice and cook the lastest harvested spaghetti squash, and I wish to Thank You from the Bottom of My Heart! Finally the squash cooked evenly AND forked out just like long, delicious strands of spaghetti. I also salted them for the 20 minutes beforehand and that tip, too, does a remarkable job of ensuring the strands aren’t mushy.

I used a jar sauce by Dave’s Gourmet (enhanced with cooked ground turkey and a little italian sausage, plus red bell, swett onion, and button mushrooms slices.) The sauce was Butternut Squash sauce! Some might think it was TOO much squash, together…but let me tell you -the combonation WAS DIVINE!!!! Thanks again for the tips and awesome inspiration!

Yay!!! So excited that this worked so well for you, Holly. 🙂 I grew spaghetti squash last year, it was so fun! The salting tip was a game changer for me. I have to do it every time now. Also, I LOVE your idea for squash on squash. I do it all the time. 🙂

Thank you for taking the time to inform the masses about the joys and wonders of well cooked spaghetti squash. The little circles worked great! I poked my squash and microwaved it just for a bit to soften it enough to cut better. I made thai peanut noodles with this, too!

I used to strongly dislike spaghetti squash because I only knew to prepare it the lengthwise-cutting way. It was sooo much better your way, obtaining actual noodles that resemble actual spaghetti. Thanks so much!

WHAT Dear Lillie is to my home decorating YOU are to my kitchen and cooking!! Love that you are so detailed and this spaghetti squash was the best!! I roasted some garlic and cherry tomatoes also and tossed them with the squash and topped if with some fresh basil!!! Seriously it was AMAZING!!! Thank you!

Well, thanks to you I’m now familiar with Dear Lillie, and I can say, WOW, what a compliment. Thank you! I’m so glad that the spaghetti squash turned out so well for you, and the roasted garlic and cherry tomato topping with basil sounds fantastic! And..now I’m hungry. 😉 So glad you found me!

I have tried spaghetti squash in the past, cutting it length wise like so many articles recommend and too was disappointed. My results didn’t seem to be worth the amount of effort. I recently decided to give it another chance and happened to come across your article. First, I want to say that your article is so well written! As I was reading, I was feeling a little skeptical about cutting into rings, but it was like you read my mind and followed up with the proof and I was sold! I tried your method last night for dinner and I must say that I was VERY pleased with the results! I will forever make spaghetti squash using your method now! Thank you so much for sharing this information and your excellent instructions. I will finally be able to add spaghetti squash to my regular diet! (P.S. I saved my seeds too! I have already decided to try adding spaghetti squash to my garden this year!)

A couple more notes about this FANTASTIC way to slice and prepare SS. Microwaving the whole squash 2 to 5 min before your slice your circles makes it unbelievably easy to cut, a trick that is a BOON to myself and others with Carpal Tunnel syndrome! We grew Spaghetti Squash for the 1st time here in North Louisiana last year from seed purchased at Home Depot. They made wonderfully! Dear Hubby built a strong wooden “A” frame type trellis to keep them off the ground, but the ones that grew low on the ground anyway, we put straw under to prevent soft spots. We ate SS all summer, then in October, began harvesting some to store. We pulled and stored 8 in all between Halloween and December (it was a warm fall!) SS can be stored in a dark, cool to room temp area and used over the next 3 -4 months! We marked the date we pulled them in right on the outside of the squash with a Sharpie, so we could use them first in, first out. Lastly, after allowing the salt to draw off the excess moisture, and dabbing them dry-ish with paper towels, I take my handy-dandy “MISTO” olive oil sprayer I got on Amazon and spray the inner squash areas lightly with EVOO. When finished cooking, those delicious strands fork out beautifully! Cheers! -holly

Hi Beth, I was just listening to the chopped podcast (which was amazing by the way, the entire episode felt like a hug for the soul) and of course all the spaghetthi squash talk made me curious to check out the post. This is such a great example for an informative article, no wonder it has gone viral! <3

Thank you! All of these years, I had been wondering what I was doing “wrong”. I followed your tips (including salting the lil” rascals to draw out excess moisture) It worked like a charm, and now I am HOOKED! I am now the most recent Sister Appreciative of Spaghetti Squash – Or SASS for short. Thank you! Keep those great articles coming!

I just wanted to thank you for writing this article, I tried your method and it was life changing (well for my spaghetti squash life anyways!). Salting and the horizontal cuts are def. the way to go. Thank you thank you!

Hi Beth. Thanks for this wonderful cooking method! I adore it! The flavor of the squash really comes through! I do have one question, however… How do you get such beautiful “noodles”? When I cut the skin away from the squash rings, I’m not sure how to turn those solid pieces of squash into those noodles! Please share! Thanks so much, to anyone who might give me some assistance. : )

Hi Laurie! SO sorry to be so behind on my comment reply. Typically the strands of cooked squash will separate pretty easily with your fingers (let it cool first!) or a fork. If they’re not separating easily, they might not be cooked enough. Hope that helps!

Hey Beth! I just want to say thanks for sharing this!! My love for spaghetti squash has been renewed!! I made squash with dinner tonight and added some garlic butter and parsley to taste. It was so yummy.

Ok I just made spaghetti squash the way you said to including salting. But I baked it in my traeger smoker. 30 mins at 375 and 15 mins on high. That goes up to 450. I used applewood pellets. It was so awesome! A must try for grillers. Thanks so much for your priceless cooking tips.

You’re my hero! Thank you so much. I was planning on spaghetti tonight, using spaghetti squash for noodles, and was preparing myself for the look of disappointment on my husband’s face. This will be a game changer. Sweeeeet.

Hey Sarah! So sorry you are having trouble. I doubt it is anything you did. In fact I’m sure of it. Every once in a while I get what I call a “dud squash”. It could have been old, or underripe when it was picked, or any number of reasons of which you can’t control. Doesn’t make it any less frustrating though! Trust me, I get it. I didn’t see this until about an hour after you posted. What ended up happening? I hope this doesn’t deter you from trying again. I promise it wasn’t you, it was the squash. ?

Thanks for the wonderful tips! I love how you did the work and gave us so many good options, as well. A small bonus with cutting the spaghetti squash acros the diagonal is that it will now fit carefully into my large toaster (convection) oven so that I need not turn on the big one on this hot, humid, (crazy), September, New England day!

My pleasure! And WOOHOO for getting to use the convection toaster oven! I used to live in New England and know those hot and humid days well. I have a convection toaster oven as well and it’s so handy. Totally worth taking up the counter space. 🙂

AMAZING!!! I’ve tried spaghetti squash many times and it is always so watery we had given it up as something we didn’t care for. But, when my local Aldi had them for .39 cents EACH (not per pound) I decided to give it another shot. I did your trick of letting it sit with salt for 15 minutes, also cut it horizontally instead of vertically and it was amazing! I served with a low-cal shrimp scampi recipe. Both are keepers!

Hey Linda, I’m so bummed for you. If your squash stayed hard, the cooking method is not the problem, sadly. You can try cooking it longer or stick it in the microwave for a few minutes, but the truth is it may just be what I call a “dud squash.” I get one of those every so often and it is so infuriating. I use this method regularly and it works, I promise. Sometimes no matter what you do, the squash doesn’t cooperate. I wish I had a way to tell in the store if a squash will be a dud or not, but I haven’t figured it out yet. I hope you’ll try again!

OMG …So easy to make and fool my kids with a healthy dinner. Even my husband the steak and potatoes guy loved it. When I told the family it was squash they went no way. Great way to get the Saturday meal in after on the go all day. Cut, salt, wipe, bake and make sauce. Great and easy meal!!!

I am just about to put my first spag squash in the oven, but without even knowing for sure how it’s going to turn out, I wanted to tell you that I am so glad I saw your blog first, when looking for instructions! You are hilarious! Even if this turns out to be a total flop, you made it fun!

Salting the squash is brilliant! I couldn’t believe how much water came out. Between that extra step and cutting width-wise instead of lengthwise, my entire spaghetti squash experience took a turn for the better. I’ve made it a hundred times before but never like this, will be doing it this way every time now!

I had homemade sauce and a spaghetti squash, (I was yet to try again to find a way to like) and I am so glad I scrolled through recipe’s until I found this one. My oven made it very el dente in 30 which is typical but in 40 minutes I had a great dish of spaghetti squash pasta. Thank you so much for having the passion to figure this out!

Wonderful article! We just got a spaghetti squash for the first time and I wandered across your article! Thanks for the helpful tips! Another place besides Costco that doesn’t sell them by the pound is ALDI! We paid $1.99 for one squash!

Best Christmas eve seafood course ever. Cooked the spaghetti squash as above except salted it for about 30 minutes & the strands were wonderfully sturdy. While squash was in the oven made a basic shrimp scampi, pulled the shrimp, sauteed some scallops & set aside, added concentrated seafood stock & a bit more water to my olive oil & garlic then steamed a dozen clams in the broth. Filled the squash ‘bowls’ with shrimp & scallops & garlic broth with some clams on the side, topped with fresh parsley. Y-U-M